Exterior of the former location of Drama Bookshop.

Drama Book Shop, Backed by Lin-Manuel Miranda, to Open in June (NY Times)

The quirky bookstore, which sells scripts and other theater-related work, was acquired by a team of “Hamilton” alumni after years of struggle.

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Mayor Bill de Blasio speaking

New York City plans a $25 million program to put artists back to work. (NY Times)

The program, the City Artist Corps, will give money to artists, musicians and other performers to create works across the city, whether through public art, performances, pop-up shows, murals or other community arts projects.

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TKTS booth in Times Square

Broadway to Re-Open on September 14th at 100% Capacity (BroadwayWorld)

At a press conference this morning, Governor Cuomo announced that Broadway will be back in New York City with shows opening September 14.   Tickets will go sale at 100% capacity on May 6th.

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Ken-Matt Martin in front of the Victory Gardens Theater in Chicago. Photo by Nolis Anderson for The New York Times
Taking Over Victory Gardens to Make a ‘Theater for All’ (NY Times)
Ken-Matt Martin, the esteemed Chicago theater’s first Black artistic director, is going in with his eyes open.
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Is Streaming Theatre Here to Stay? The National Theatre Network Is Banking on It (American Theatre)
A new streaming platform from Broadway on Demand offers a place for regional theatres to introduce themselves to national, even global audiences.________
scenes from The Last Five Years, Circle Jerk, and Heroes of the Fourth Turning
Drama League Awards Announces 2021 Nominees and Special Recognition Recipients (Playbill)

The organization will honor digital theatre, audio plays, virtual concerts, and more in its 87th annual ceremony. Voting is now open for Drama League members through April 16; Winners will be announced May 21 at 7 PM ET in a live stream presentation.
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Image of card with QR code and smartphone with QR code.
Nation’s first ‘vaccine passport’ coming to New York (NY Post)

The program, dubbed the “Excelsior Pass,” is an app that will allow New Yorkers to prove their vaccination status, or recent history of a negative COVID-19 test, in order to gain entry to events and businesses
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Sean Hewitt reciting “Queens” by J.M. Synge in the digital installation “Poetic Reflections:Words Upon the Window Pane,” at the Irish Repertory Theater’s front windows.

The Irish Repertory Theater is streaming poetry readings, and Playwrights Horizons and St. Ann’s Warehouse are showcasing art dealing with race and injustice.
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A critic discovers the joy of visiting Covid-restricted art collections, which lets him commune with van Gogh and the gang.
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NYC to Set Up Vax Sites for Theater Industry; Calls to Pause Reopenings Grow as Cases Plateau (NBC-NY)

The city's rate of new cases per 100,000 residents is currently among the highest in the nation. However, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced a plan to vaccinate the theater industry to bring back performances

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Interior of The Spectacle Theater in New York
For New York’s Movie Theaters, Reopening Won’t Be a Return to Business as Usual (Hyperallergic)

"We’re so close. Why not wait until everybody is vaccinated?" noted Thomas Beard of Light Industry.
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Meryl Streep, Mary-Louise Parker to star in virtual spring plays (Chicago Tribune)
Proceeds from the performances will benefit The Actors Fund.
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A dust-up in Dallas and a 2,500-person petition signal that many performers believe their representatives are keeping them from getting work.
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Exterior of Fisher Theater marquee.

Ambassador Theatre Group Acquires Theatres in San Francisco and Detroit (Playbill)

The live theatre and ticketing company adds San Francisco's Golden Gate and Orpheum and Detroit's Fisher to its roster.
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Interior photo of an event at Town Stages in NYC.

Desperate for cash, strapped arts venues wait out delays in federal covid relief (Washington Post)

The SBA announced Friday that applications for the aid under the so-called Shuttered Venue Operators Grant program will open April 8.

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Workers setting up the Daryl Roth Theater this week in antiticpation of the April opening of the audio play “Blindness,” which is presented without live actors.

Laura Collins-Hughes and Alexis Soloski discuss returning to in-person performances.

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Installation view of “Alexander Calder: Modern From the Start” at the Museum of Modern Art. From left, in the foreground, “White Panel,” “Gibraltar” and “Apple Monster.”
Review: Alexander Calder, MoMA’s Household God, Still Holds Sway (NY Times)

A show drawn primarily from the museum’s collection and archives tells the story of its relationship with this early favorite.
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Daniel Kaluuya accepting the award for best supporting actor for his role as Fred Hampton in “Judas and the Black Messiah.”

Nomadland takes the top prize
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Logo of LA Stage Alliance
LA Stage Alliance Shuts Down After 25+ Theatres Depart Organization (Playbill)

The group came under fire for a number of issues arising during the March 30 Ovation Awards.
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“Afterwardsness" by Bill T. Jones at the Park Avenue Armory with socially distanced audience.
The Park Avenue Armory is postponing “Afterwardsness” after three members of the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane dance company tested positive for the coronavirus.
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Taylor Mac performing in his “24-Decade History of Popular Music” at St. Ann’s Warehouse in 2016

Next From Taylor Mac: A Post-Pandemic Pandemic Play — Set in 1918 (NY Times)

“Joy and Pandemic” is slated to be performed this fall before an in-person audience at the Magic Theater in San Francisco.
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How We Can Create a New Broadway Out of Its Myopic Past (TheaterMania)

Jose Solís: There's room to celebrate works like A Strange Loop without discarding South Pacific.
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Exterior of Royal George Theatre in Chicago at night
Royal George Theatre shows are told to leave and the theater is likely to close (Chicago Tribune)

The Royal George Theatre, long one of the most important venues in [Chicago] for commercial theater entertainment, appears unlikely to reopen.
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Art Market Shrank 22 Percent in Pandemic Year, Study Says (NY Times)

The author of the UBS and Art Basel report says she doesn’t expect a return to anything resembling normalcy soon. The coming period will be “another transitional year,” she said.
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Digital image of RSC's Puck and Cobweb. Photograph by Paul Mumford and Marshmallow Laser Feast
The RSC's hi-tech Dream opens up a world of theatrical possibility (The Guardian)

This online experiment uses live motion capture to bring the fairies and sprites of A Midsummer Night’s Dream to vivid life
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Scott Rudin inside an elevator as door closes Photo by Krista Schlueter for The New York Times
Says “profoundly sorry” for his behavior and revealed that he is resigning from the Broadway League
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Rendering of interior of the new Drama Book Shop.
First Look at the New Drama Book Shop, Coming Soon to 39th Street! (BroadwayWorld)

The Drama Book Shop will reopen at 266 West 39th Street (between 7th and 8th Avenues).
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Multiple shots from Mike Daisey's "What the Fuck Just Happened?"

Review: Mike Daisey pandemic year monologue on stage and online: What The F**k Just Happened? (New York Theater)

Mike Daisey performed his latest monologue to 22 masked and vaccinated theatergoers in person Friday night at the 99-seat Kraine Theater in the East Village, and simultaneously to another 500 watching online.

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Potos of ngelina Weld Grimké, Samm-Art Williams, Alice Childress, Shirley Graham Du Bois, and Zora Neale Hurston.

Roundabout ‘Refocus Project’ to Stage Readings of 20th-Century Black Playwrights (American Theatre)

A new project to put the focus on marginalized voices opens with a series showcasing under-sung plays, in hopes of seeding future productions.
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Actors' Equity Members Call on Leadership for Virtual Town Hall to Discuss Reopening Plans (Playbill)

A letter to the union already has over 1,700 signatures.
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A still of artwork from “Wojnarowicz,” a documentary from Chris McKim.

A documentary on the artist David Wojnarowicz shows the ways that the rebel was a prophet, and honors him appropriately.
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THE OFFICE! A MUSICAL PARODY Will Resume Performances Off-Broadway in April (BroadwayWorld)

The show resumes in-person performances in New York City (at 33% capacity) beginning on Friday, April 9, 2021.
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The Met Opera’s Musicians, Unpaid Since April, Are Struggling (NY Times)
About 40 percent of the players have left the New York area, and a tenth have retired. Now the Met is seeking long-term pay cuts, and offering them partial pay if they come to the bargaining table.
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LINKS

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The Arts Report
Contact: john.theartsreport [at] gmail [dot] com